Anniversary

By Andrew J. Talon

Disclaimer: I do not and probably never will own Harry Potter or any other copyrighted works mentioned in this story. I am not writing this for profit.


When Luna's mother died, Ron remembered his mother and father rushing him over to the Lovegood house. He remembered seeing the Rookery, how strangely it was shaped. Just like the chess piece, only made of stone and covered in vines as it reached to the sky. It was like part of a castle had gone wandering, away from the rest.

"Why are we here? What happened?" Ron asked.

"Your auntie Pandora had an accident," his mother explained, "and they need our help."

That was enough for Ron, he thought. Helping people including saving people from harm, like Harry Potter or Merlin. So Ron was excited and worried.

They'd entered in through the front door. His mother immediately went off to the lab, and his dad told him to stay with Luna.

He saw her then-Small and waifish, the first thing he noticed were her eyes. They were always large and almost luminescent-He'd known that ever since he'd met the odd little girl when he was three and she was two-Brought over to play with Ginny several times.

Her eyes stared now, unblinking, her face frozen. She just sat on the couch, all alone, so still he swore she'd been hit with a Petrification curse or something.

Ron froze for a moment himself, feeling awkward. He wasn't a big strong hero who could save the day here. He didn't know any magic. Nothing that would help, anyway.

So he did the only thing he could do-He climbed onto the couch with her, and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her small body against his. He wasn't much bigger than her, but big enough she could hold onto him-Which she did, tightly.

Hours passed. More adults came. All whispering or talking gravely. A few shot sympathetic looks to Luna.

She didn't respond to any of it, as she sat in total silence. Ron just kept by her. He didn't know how else to help her, but he knew if his mum was in an accident and everyone was worried and scared... That he'd want someone to stay with him.

He'd want someone to be kind.

Finally, his mother came up the stairs from the lab. She looked like she had been crying, but was trying not to. She did smile softly when she saw Ron and Luna on the couch.

She knelt down, to look Luna in the eyes.

"Luna," his mother started, "I'm sorry... Your mother... She's dead."

Luna didn't respond at all. No more than she had to anything else. Ron tightened his hug on her, now really worried.

"We have to move her body up to the Floo," his mother said softly, "Ron? Please take her up to her room."

"Okay Mum," Ron said. He pulled Luna up to her feet. She obeyed without question, as he led her upstairs. His natural curiosity made him linger-He looked down just long enough to see the other witches and wizards levitating a white sheet wrapped body into the living room.

He shuddered, and kept going upstairs with Luna.

They made it to her room. It was brightly colored, with paintings all over the walls. Luna was a good artist, Ron reflected. She practiced so much.

He got her to her bed, and sat down with her. She clung to him tightly, still silent. It was a long moment.

Then she trembled, and bowed her head.

"Luna?" Ron murmured. "Luna?"

She let out a sob that shook her entire small body. She buried her face in his chest.

Ron momentarily panicked-A crying girl? How did you handle that? How did a heroic wizard stop this?

After a moment though... He wrapped his arms around her more tightly, and rested his head against hers as she sobbed into his jumper.

"I'm right here," he murmured. It was the only thing he could think to say. "I'm right here... I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

Every year after, on the same day, Ron found his steps taking him to where Luna was. Without fail (save for his first year at Hogwarts), she'd be nearby. And without fail, he would walk up to her.


This year, his fifth at Hogwarts, was the worst so far. You-Know-Who, Fudge, Umbridge-It was a bloody nightmare.

He saw the small blonde girl sitting in the library. He pulled out a chair next to her, and sat down. She turned and smiled dreamily at him.

"Hello Ronald," she said softly, "how are you today? Your Nargle levels are high."

"I just," Ron tried, and failed, to say anything. He put his words back together in his head, and pushed forward.

"It's that day. And... I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Luna's smile became a bit warmer.

"I am," she said, "and I'm glad you remember."

"How could I forget?" Ron muttered. He winced. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it-"

"It's all right, Ronald," Luna said softly. "There were a lot of terrible things that happened that day. The most obvious being my mother's death."

"Yeah," Ron said, his shoulders drooping. Why couldn't he do anything right? She sounded upset... As upset as she ever sounded, anyway. Which probably meant a lot.

"But I also remember you being there for me," Luna said quietly, "and holding me, and saying you weren't going to leave me."

Ron looked up at Luna. The warmth in the blonde girl's eyes was intense. He felt a blush erupt from his cheeks. It got worse when she leaned in, and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you for that, Ronald," Luna whispered into his ear, her breath warm against his skin, "that meant everything to me. On that day... You were my hero."

Ron's flush became pleased, and he gained a soft, small smile. He wrapped an arm around her, and hugged her again. She returned it happily.

"You're welcome," he mumbled. She snuggled up against him, which made Ron's blush worse.

"So uh... Um... Should I say anything else?" Ron asked awkwardly.

"Not if you don't want to," Luna said dreamily.

"That's good," Ron said with a nod. "Don't want to say anything stupid."

"Oh that's all right, Ronald," Luna said, "I like it when you say stupid things."

Ron paused.

"... How often do I do that, just out of curiosity?"

Luna giggled.


Hope you enjoyed.